Hi i have a 5 year old male ferret who is ill he is lethargic and pawing at his mouth and has got hair loss on his tail i have had him to the vet a few times but they are as yet unable to shed any light on it so if anyone who owns ferrets has ever experienced anything like this and knows what it is or could be please help me many thanks.

have they done blood tests ? Get them to test the gluecose levels, possible insuloma. Are your vets ferret savvy, from your post it doesn't seem so. What is his wieght and is he eating as normal ? How much hair is lost from tail and has he hair loss any where else. ferrets also can suffer from ulcers so get the vet to look into that, as with the drooling is could be one of the things that is causing problems

Don't panic this may not be the case with your Ferret at all because pawing at the mouth is not a symptom of what i'm going to talk about, but the hair loss is. Perhaps you should go for an ultra sound or X-Ray to see if it is teeth,mouth or throat issues maybe he has something stuck in his throat. My Ferret is a female and has hair loss because she has an adrenal gland tumor. It is real common in ferrets that have been fixed tooooo young. My Feebie is getting ready to go into surgery to have the tumor removed. For the males it shows up with prostate issues and urination difficulties because of it, but there is also another disease that is common is Ferrets that have signs of hair loss as well. I can't think of the name of it. Surgery is the most effective treatment for adrenal diseases, and involve the removal of the affected gland. Most of the time it is the Left gland and is easier for surgery because the right gland is connected to the Vena Cava so there is a risk of bleeding but it can be done. there are meds instead of the surgery but it's only a bandade and does not address the issue but could perhaps slow the disease. I have decided to go for the surgery and am saving up for it now. I bought my Ferret in Las Vegas and have taken her to a specialist there in Vegas but have found another competent Vet that can diagnose and do the surgery here in Palmdale, California. So if you are in California here is the info. Palmdale Veterinary Hospital 38568 North 6th St. E. Palmdale, CA. 93550 661-273-1555 Dr. McEwan Hope this helps. Crystal

One other thing I forgot that my husband just reminded me about is a hairball. don't know but you could try the hair ball remover you get from the pet store but if he's not eating that won't do any good. The vet needs to rule that out fast!!!!! I'm thinking more hair ball then Adrenal issue for sure. Crystal